Abbreviation | O.U.R. |
---|---|
Named after | Underground Railroad |
Founded | October 2013 |
Founder | Tim Ballard |
Founded at | Salt Lake City, Utah |
Type | Non-governmental organization, non-profit organization |
46-3614979 | |
Focus | Humanitarian |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Tammy Lee (current CEO) Matt Osborne (President and COO) Tim Ballard (former CEO) |
Website | ourrescue |
Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) is a nonprofit United States–based anti-sex trafficking organization founded in 2013 by Tim Ballard.[1] The organization has been criticized for its conduct during sting operations and has been accused of exaggerating claims regarding its work.[1][2] There have been no actual verified rescues performed by the group, and the group's claims of rescues have misled donors and the public about what the group does.[3] The group claims to have conducted multiple sting operations, some outside the United States, and donated technological and monetary resources to law-enforcement agencies that combat sex trafficking.[1][4]
The group's founder, Tim Ballard, was the subject of an internal investigation in 2023 after multiple former employees accused him of "sexual harassment, spiritual manipulation, grooming, and sexual misconduct." Ballard resigned as CEO in June, 2023, as a result of the investigation. Weeks later, the organization was named in two separate lawsuits, in which the plaintiffs accused Tim Ballard of sexual assault, grooming, and coercing women into sexual acts during O.U.R.'s sting operations.
In a December 2023 statement posted on its website, the organization said an independent law firm reached the conclusion that Ballard had "engaged in unprofessional behavior that violated OUR's policies and values."[5]
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page).